Fire fighting is an extremely demanding occupation that requires agility, strength and stamina. Fire fighters in many cases are required to wear special protective clothing, breathing equipment and the use of tools that can add a large amount of weight.
The tools that are often carried to a fire scene are an axe, a sledge hammer and a pick. The weight of the individual tools can be excessive, especially when climbing a stairway or a ladder. The instant invention minimizes the weight problem by having in a single tool an axe, a sledge hammer and pick.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUED5,009,010Burlison23 Apr. 19914,932,127Burke12 Jun. 19904,412,572Clark 1 Nov. 19832,794,251Towne 4 Jun. 19572,017,447Simmons15 Oct. 1935
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,010 patent discloses an axe handle protector that is provided for a wood splitting axe. The axe includes a rigid arm supported and projecting rearward from the rear side of the axe head in a spaced relation beneath the handle of the axe. A resilient spacing and bracing body is disposed between the rear end of the arm and the opposing underside portion of the axe handle.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,127 patent discloses a hand tool for chopping and splitting wood. The tool comprises a head having a blade end with a cutting edge, an eye hole extending in an axial direction through the head for receiving a handle, a pair of opposing side faces extending from the cutting edge, a recess extending into at least one of the pair of side faces, and a wedge removably received in the recess.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,572 patent discloses a splitting axe having a head with an eye, and a handle having a portion received within the eye. The head has an anterior portion extending from one end of the eye and terminating in a cutting edge, and a posterior portion extending from the opposite end of the eye to the end of the cutting edge.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,251 patent discloses an axe head for cutting metals. The axe head comprises an axe body having a handle opening therein and a cutting blade extending generally in the direction of the handle opening. The blade has leading and trailing edges with a cutting edge extending across a part of the blade portion extending from the leading edge diagonally toward the handle opening and the trailing edge.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,017,447 patent discloses a straight steel blade in which a modified brush or brier hook blade is combined in one tool with an axe blade.
For background purposes and indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search.
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUEDD608,615Knight26 Jan. 2010D607,295Knight 5 Jan. 2010